From Black Monday to Billion-Dollar Portfolios: A Step‑by‑Step Guide to Investing with Your Phone

Name: Investing for Beginners - How I Make Millions from Stocks (Full Guide)
Uploaded: 2026-02-16T16:34:59.288326+00:00
Channel: Mark Tilbury
Description: Summary and key takeaways on From Black Monday to Billion-Dollar Portfolios: A Step‑by‑Step Guide to Investing with Your Phone, covering The Power of Time in

Mark Tilbury

Feb 16, 2026

•

3 min read

YouTube video ID: 8Ij7A1VCB7I

Source: YouTube video by Mark Tilbury — Watch original video

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The Power of Time in the Market

Imagine starting to invest in 1985 at age 18. Over the next four decades the market endured Black Monday (1987), the dot‑com crash (2000‑02), the 2008 financial crisis, the 2020 COVID‑19 plunge, and the 2022‑23 global contraction.
Each crash scared friends into urging a sell‑off, but staying invested allowed the market to recover each time, eventually delivering an average annual return of 11.23 %.
A modest contribution of £250 per month over that period would have grown to £1,841,521.08 – a gain of more than 6,000 %.

Getting Started: Setting Up a Tax‑Advantaged Account

Choose the right account – In the UK use a Stocks & Shares ISA (up to £20,000 tax‑free per year). In the US the equivalent is a Roth IRA (limit £6,500 per year).
Select a platform – The video uses the Trading 212 app, but any regulated broker that offers ISA/Roth accounts works.
Deposit funds – Most apps let you fund via bank transfer, debit card, or Apple Pay. The demo deposits £400 to start buying.

Free Stock Promotion

Use promo code "TILBURY" when creating a Trading 212 account to receive a free share worth up to £100.
Invite friends who fund their accounts and both receive an extra free share.

Building a Winning Strategy: Index Funds Over Individual Picks

Why index funds? They mirror a market‑wide basket (e.g., the S&P 500) much like a music chart ranks popular songs. If one company underperforms, the rest cushion the loss.
Automation – Set up a recurring purchase (the video shows a £5 daily investment in the S&P 500, roughly the price of a coffee). This “set‑and‑forget” method compounds over time.
Performance snapshot – After three months the experiment yielded a 5.03 % return.

Using Trading 212’s “Pies” Feature

Tap Pies → + to create a new basket.
Choose the S&P 500 index fund.
Select Accumulation (dividends are automatically reinvested) rather than Distribution.
Set an Auto‑Invest amount; the app shows projected growth based on historical averages.
Example: £250/month for 31 years → £1.14 million portfolio.
Example: £250/month for 40 years → £3.56 million portfolio.
Adjust contribution amounts over time to keep pace with inflation.

Individual Stocks: When and How to Pick Them

Two analysis styles:
Technical: focuses on price charts and patterns (short‑term trading).
Fundamental: examines income statements, balance sheets, cash flow, management, and brand strength (long‑term investing).
Buying a stock on Trading 212:
Search via the magnifying‑glass icon.
Choose a company (e.g., Tesla).
Pick a Market Order (buy at current price) or a Limit Order (set a maximum price you’re willing to pay).
Confirm the purchase.

Managing Risk and the Power of Compounding

Start early – The earlier you begin, the more you benefit from compound growth.
Diversify – A portfolio of index funds can weather market crashes; historical data shows long‑term resilience.
Consistent contributions – Investing the same amount each month smooths out market volatility (dollar‑cost averaging).

Final Call to Action

Grab the free stock with code TILBURY.
Open a tax‑advantaged account, set up auto‑invest, and watch your wealth grow.
Subscribe for more wealth‑building videos and stay tuned for the next deep‑dive on net‑worth milestones.

Long‑term, automated investing—especially through low‑cost index funds in a tax‑advantaged account—turns modest monthly contributions into massive wealth, even after multiple market crashes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Mark Tilbury on YouTube?

Mark Tilbury is a YouTube channel that publishes videos on a range of topics. Browse more summaries from this channel below.

Does this page include the full transcript of the video?

Yes, the full transcript for this video is available on this page. Click 'Show transcript' in the sidebar to read it.

Helpful resources related to this video

If you want to practice or explore the concepts discussed in the video, these commonly used tools may help.

The Little Book Of Common Sense Investing Recommended

Provides simple, evidence‑based strategies for index‑fund investing, perfect for beginners looking to replicate the long‑term growth shown in the video

Amazon →

A Random Walk Down Wall Street

Explains why market timing is futile and why consistent, diversified investing outperforms active stock picking

Amazon →

The Intelligent Investor

Classic guide to fundamental analysis and value investing, complementing the video’s discussion of company fundamentals

Amazon →

Bogleheads' Guide To Investing

Offers practical steps for setting up tax‑advantaged accounts and automating index‑fund investments, mirroring the tutorial

Amazon →

Investing For Dummies

A beginner‑friendly handbook that breaks down the basics of stocks, ETFs, and brokerage platforms, aligning with the video’s introductory tone

Amazon →

Links may be affiliate links. We only include resources that are genuinely relevant to the topic.

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Full Transcript YouTube

- I want you to imagine for a moment
that you started investing in 1985,
for a couple of years,
your money keeps going up and up, until...
- [Announcer] Black Monday.
- [Announcer 2] They're calling
it the "Monday Massacre."
- [Announcer 3] Wall Street
had its biggest one day drop
in history.
- [Announcer 4] The results of the decline
will hit millions of people.
- Up until this point, your
friends probably thought
you were some kind of genius.
But now they're urging you
to sell, but you ignore them,
and slowly but surely,
the market recovers,
until...
- [Announcer] The NASDAQ
index in free fall,
down nearly 10%.
- [Announcer 2] Driven
by technology in general
and the internet in particular.
- [Announcer 3] Traders and
investors, shell shocked.
- Your friends are on
their knees begging you
to pull your money out.
Saying things like it's
time to take your profits
before you lose everything.
But you hold strong
and things start going back
up until you are hit with...
- It was one of the most profound events
in generations with huge consequences.
- Little did you know you are
in for the ride of a lifetime,
until...
- [Announcer] The global
economy will contract
by 3% this year.
The worst downturn since
the Great Depression.
- Surely this is the
end of the stock market,
but as things reopened,
the market soared 27% from
its low, setting new records.
What a comeback.
Something I didn't mention
is the guy that invested his
money in 1985 was actually me,
when I turned 18 years old.
The average return over this time period
was 11.23% per year.
So if I'd have only
invested $250 per month
during this time,
then I would've made $1,841,521
and 8 cents.
That's a return of over 6000%,
but between us, I invested
a lot more than that.
So now you understand
the power of investing.
I think it's time to
jump into the details.
Honestly, it's amazing how many
people talk about investing,
but don't actually show you how to do it.
So I'm gonna quickly walk you through
how to invest in stocks on your phone.
Of course, remember, I'm
not a financial advisor.
This is just the way I do it,
and before you do any of this,
make sure you have an emergency fund
of three to five months
of living expenses.
The first thing on our list
is to set up an account.
A lot of people get stuck at this stage,
as there's a lot of different
investment platforms out there
and also different types of accounts.
But trust me, it's much more
simple than it first seems.
Especially now you can do it all online.
When I first started investing,
I had to phone up the stockbroker
every time I wanted to buy a stock.
Let's use the Trading 212 app.
I'm gonna be using my son's account,
as my account's pretty messy,
as it has a bunch of free shares.
He's actually been running
an experiment on here
for the last three months,
but we'll talk about that in a bit.
The account you open should
be a tax advantaged one.
This means you won't have to
pay any unnecessary taxes.
These are known as stocks
and shares ISAs in the UK,
and Roth IRAs in America.
I think the UK option's much better,
as you can invest up
to 20,000 pounds a year
without paying capital
gains tax on your profits
and you can take out your
money whenever you want.
In contrast, Americans have to wait
until they're old and retired
and they have a much lower
limit of $6,500 per year.
Feel free to use whatever app you like.
This is just one of my personal favorites.
Next, we need to deposit some money
in order to start investing.
Most apps make it pretty
easy to deposit money.
We just have to click these three lines
and then select deposit funds.
As you can see, this brings up a screen
with lots of different options
like instant bank transfer,
bank transfer, debit card,
and what we are gonna use, Apple Pay.
Let's just put in 400,
so we can invest in some stocks together.
Feel free to invest whatever
you feel comfortable doing.
Curtis, I'm gonna need
your face for the phone.
- [Curtis] Alright, hang on.
- This next step is super important,
getting some free stocks.
Since I was planning to talk
about Trading 212 anyway,
I reached out to them to see
if they would be interested
in sponsoring this portion of the video.
They agreed and they're
offering a free stock
worth up to a hundred pound to anyone
that uses the code "TILBURY"
when they create an account.
Plus, you can get more free
shares by inviting your friends.
Both of you will get a free share,
as long as they fund their account,
so don't waste your
invites and invite brokies.
And also don't worry if you've
already opened an account
within the last 10 days,
you can still use the promo
code "TILBURY" in the app
and receive your free share.
Right, now we need to
plan a winning strategy.
The first thing we need to remember is
that investments go up and down.
So it's very hard to pick
winning individual stocks.
That's why I prefer to
invest in all of them.
You probably think this
sounds a bit crazy,
but stay with me.
I love listening to music.
I'm a big Deacon Blue
and Queen fan myself,
but whatever you like,
if you've ever listened
to the radio, or used Spotify,
you'll be familiar with the music charts.
The better the songs perform
in sales and downloads,
the higher up they go in the charts.
On the other hand, if a song
drops in popularity and sales,
then it drops out of the charts.
This is almost exactly the same
as investing in an index fund.
All you have to do is switch
out the songs for companies.
Let's take the S&P 500 for example.
This is a list of around 500
of the largest public companies
in the USA,
the big dogs being Amazon,
Google, Apple, and Tesla.
And just like the music charts,
if a company does poorly,
then they risk being
removed from the list.
Here's the cool part about an index fund,
with just one click,
you're not just investing
in one or two companies,
but in every single company on the list.
So if one doesn't perform
very well, your money's okay,
as you are spread across all of them.
So how can we put this into practice?
Well, we need to automate
our long-term investments.
Remember I said my son had been
running a little experiment
for the last three months on his account.
Well, he's been investing five pounds
into the S&P 500 every day.
Why five pound?
Because that's about the average price
of a Starbucks coffee.
Automating your investments
like this is a great idea
as it means you can just
set it and forget it.
His portfolio is actually
doing pretty well.
As you can see in the green.
His return so far is
36 pounds of 46 pence,
and that's a return of 5.03%.
Not bad for a little experiment.
If you want me to keep
you updated with this
when it reaches the six month mark,
let me know in the comments.
To set something like this up,
all you have to do is select pies
and then press the plus icon.
Now you can select whatever
stocks you want to include
in your pie.
For this demonstration,
let's just keep it easy
and pick this S&P 500 index fund.
By the way, look out for if it says
accumulation or distribution
in the brackets.
Personally, I always go with accumulation,
as it reinvests your dividends
back into the stock automatically,
the less I have to think about the better.
Now let's tap add to pie
and then the arrow button.
If there was more than one stock in here,
then we'd be able to
change the percentages
with this slider.
Right, tap next, and then auto invest.
This value projection is really awesome,
as it shows you how much
money you could make
based on historical averages.
Of course, when you invest,
you can get back less than you invested,
as investments can rise and fall,
but it's still a great way to get an idea
of how much you could make based
on data backed projections.
I mean, say we invested 250
pounds a month for 31 years,
you'll only have invested
94,000 of your own money.
Your portfolio would be 1.14 million.
If we expand this to 40 years,
your portfolio would be 3.56 million.
It's worth having to
play around with this,
as it's quite motivational,
seeing how much money you can make
with a relatively small
amount invested per month
and to all the people
in the common saying,
"Well, what about inflation?
It will make your money worth far less."
As long as you're investing
and not just keeping your
money in a bank account,
then inflation is not something
you need to be extremely worried about.
Additionally, I increased
the amount I was investing
to keep pace with inflation.
Now let's pick some individual stocks.
Although I wouldn't recommend
that beginners bother
with picking stocks.
I know many of you're gonna try anyway,
especially since you've
seen people make millions
from the right meme stock that
skyrocketed, like GameStop.
Alright, so there's basically two ways
to take a stab at figuring
out what's going on
in the stock market.
Technical and fundamental analysis.
Those quick deal day traders are all about
the technical stuff, pouring
over price charts and patterns,
thinking they've got the scoop
on how the stock's gonna swing
just by eyeballing the ups and downs.
Now me, I'm more of a long-term player.
I dig into the nitty gritty
of a company's fundamentals.
You know, the financials,
who's steering the ship,
and how well known the brand is.
I reckon that's where the real lowdown is
for predicting a stock's
long-term success.
So I sift through income
statements, balance sheets,
and cash flow statements.
When I throw money into a stock,
I'm in it for the long haul,
at least two to five years minimum.
To find stocks, simply click
on the magnifying glass icon.
Trading 212 have made it incredibly easy
to find stocks by providing various lists,
such as big tech, popular
ETFs, banks are most owned.
There's also lots more, take a look
when you find a bit of time.
You can even go on the social feed tab
and see different pies that
other users have created
and copy it for yourself
with a single click,
so you don't have to
find the stocks yourself.
On the stock page, you
can see the price graph
and by scrolling down
you can actually access
all those important financial
documents I discussed earlier.
Now, let's buy a stock, Tesla will do.
Now this pulls up a page with
a couple of different options.
The first one is a market order.
A market order is just like
when you go to the supermarket
and pay whatever the price tag says.
A limit order on the other hand,
is like going to a boot fair and haggling
for the best price you want.
You can put in a price that
you are willing to pay,
and if the price ever gets to that level,
then the app will purchase
the stock for you.
As a beginner, that's all
you really need to know.
There's no point diving
into the other options.
Let's buy £400 worth of Tesla,
so I can show you how it's done.
The final step is to press send by order,
and boom, we're now part owners of Tesla.
So now you know all the steps,
and you've got a free stock
with the link in the description.
What's holding you back?
Well, it all sounds great, Mark,
but isn't investing a bit risky?
Well take a look at this.
If you are investing a
single amount every month
from the age of 25, you
would be around about here
if you invested for around 30 years.
Now, if you waited 10 years,
this is the difference
that will make your growth,
somewhere around about here.
Look at the difference,
it's absolutely crazy.
So start young.
If you have a diversified
portfolio of index funds
and keep investing at a gradual rate
each and every year,
then even if there's a stock market crash,
then historical data
shows you should be able
to endure the storm, just like I did.
If you want to know why
net worth goes crazy
after 100 K, then you can
check out this next video,
but don't click on it just yet.
Make sure to subscribe if
you want to grow your wealth.
Okay, I'll see you over there.